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Utah senator says he regrets ‘irresponsible’ Trump remarks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is backtracking after saying that he wasn’t concerned that prosecutors implicated President Donald Trump in a crime.

The Republican in a statement said he spoke “imprudently” in a CNN interview Tuesday. During the interview, he dismissed federal prosecutors who said Trump directed his personal lawyer Michael Cohen to make hush money payments.

Hatch said Democrats will do anything to hurt Trump. When the CNN reporter pointed out it wasn’t Democrats but federal prosecutors, Hatch said, “I don’t care. All I can say is, I think he’s doing a good job as president.”

Hatch on Friday said he regrets those comments, calling them “irresponsible and a poor reflection on my lengthy record of dedication to the rule of law.”